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Is male vanity at an all-time high in the UK?

Brit men are the vainest of them all and spend 365 days of their life looking in the mirror!

BRITISH men spend longer looking at their reflections every day than women, our new national research reveals. And beauty experts have even dubbed this new breed of preening males as 'Reflectors' because they spend so long checking themselves out.

The average adult UK man will spend 56 minutes looking at his own reflection every day, according to our recent nationwide study.

That's 340.67 hours every year or a whopping 355 days of self-reflection in their adult life (between the ages of 25-50).

British women, on the other hand, spend just 43.5 minutes on an average day asking their mirror who is the fairest of them all.

That's 265 hours every year and 275.65 entire days looking in the mirror between the ages of 25-50 for the average British lady.

More than half of British men (52%) freely admit they are getting vainer than ever.

The habitual reflection-checking begins first thing in the morning with a typical 'Reflector' - as soon as they hop out of bed into the bathroom.

Almost three out of four men (73%) admit their ‘getting ready regime’ in the morning has almost doubled in length over the past decade as more male grooming products become available and male grooming is no longer treated like a dirty secret by the mainstream.

Furthermore, blokes are happy to add to their regime and spend longer doing regular preparation like coiffing their hair, plucking their eyebrows and fake tanning.

But the Reflector regime doesn't end there. There are numerous and readily available mirror checks throughout the course of an average Reflector's day, including checking themselves out in their car's mirror, taking advantage of making sure they look their best in the work toilets mirror, sneaking a glimpse of themselves in shop windows while out for lunch and even using computer programmes like FaceTime and Skype to make sure their image is optimised during the work day.

Men spend on average 16.5 minutes looking at themselves in the bathroom mirror in the morning. Women spend just 14.5 minutes (and this is spread across putting make-up on and doing hair in other mirrors.)

Men spend at least five minutes looking at their reflection in their car's mirrors (wing and rear view) per day. Women spend six, but this also includes checking themselves on hand-held mirrors before getting out of the car.

Men spend around 15 minutes per day making sure they look their best in toilet mirrors - while at work or out and about (e.g. in the pub, motorway service stations and at the gym). Women spend 13 minutes.

Men spend at least 4.5 minutes looking at themselves in shop windows every day. Women spend more – around five minutes.

Men spend seven minutes looking at their reflections, on their computer screens or handheld devices every day, while women only do this for three minutes.

Men spend eight minutes looking at themselves whilst cleaning their teeth in their bathroom just before they go to bed, but most women said they tend to multi task while doing this rather than looking at themselves and so only claim to look for around two minutes.

Cheekily, more than a third of British males (35%) say they spend so long in the bathroom not just to look their best but also to avoid domestic duties and to have some peace and quiet.

Barry Rourke, Betta Living Marketing Director said: "Society no longer believes it strange for men to have their own beauty regime. In fact, there are now hundreds of male only products available on the High Street.

"And it’s men who are becoming the dominant decision maker in bathroom accessories – making sure the mirror meets their needs. That never used to be the case - men used to shave and wash their face and brush their teeth and anything else was, at one time not so many years ago, thought of as a little effeminate or un-manly.

Rourke added: "A modern man using beauty products to look his best is considered very normal in 2014. So men no longer have to feel insecure about preening and looking in the mirror is no longer the social no-no it used to be.

"It is still something of a novelty for men, however, and potentially that is why they spend so long admiring themselves in the mirror - substantially more than the average British woman, according to these statistics.

"The opportunity is there to be taken advantage of and British men are embracing that opportunity wholeheartedly.

Is this the same in your household? Does the man or lady in your home spend longest in front of the mirror?